Doctor banned from working for a year after forging dead woman’s signature to dodge parking fines totalling £470
The medic, 41, tried to dodge fines by claiming his Jaguar had broken down
A DOCTOR who forged the signature of a dead woman to avoid parking tickets has been banned from work for a year.
Dr Vincent Leaper, 41, tried to dodge fines totalling £470 by claiming his Jaguar had broken down.
He gave police seven AA letters signed by AA worker Jackie Harrison.
But a probe revealed she died in 2010 and the letters were £10 fakes he bought online.
Leaper, from Southampton, was banned at a hearing of the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service in Manchester.
Chairman Dr John Smith said: "His actions involved self-serving attempts to avoid having to pay parking fines by forging documents purporting to support his version of events.
"His dishonesty occurred over a long period of time, and amounted, in effect, to defrauding the public purse.
"The tribunal was therefore satisfied that at the time he acted as he did, Dr Leaper's fitness to practise was impaired.
"The tribunal has seen little evidence of apology by Dr Leaper for his actions or acceptance of his wrongdoing.
"It therefore determined that he has little, if any, insight into the seriousness of what he did.
“Dr Leaper was prepared to repeatedly lie to a public body for his own benefit.”
Leaper got a 12-month community order after admitting fraud and forgery at the local crown court last year.
He was told his actions disgraced his profession, and ordered to pay £70 compensation to Winchester Crown Court, £260 to Southampton Crown Court and £3,272.52 in prosecution costs.